Common Core State StandardL.CCS.1/2/3/4 Grades 6-12: Video of a current news event is presented for discussion to encourage student participation, but also inspire the use of evidence to support logical claims using the main ideas of the video. Students must analyze background information provided about a current event, draw out the main ideas and key details, and review different opinions on the issue. Then, students should present their own claims using facts and analysis for support.

08/22/2011

Did NASA Warn of Eco-Alien Attack?

A report suggesting aliens might destroy humanity due to carbon emissions is being attributed to NASA. Pundits at TV news shows and at newspapers picked up the story and ran with it, layering their own opinions on top of the far-fetched premise. Troube is, there was no such study, no link to NASA.

■Class discussion: But if you see it on the Internet, it has to be true doesn't it? Shouldn't journalists check their sources on a story before spreading it further? What went wrong here? How could it have been avoided? And where are those pesky aliens, anyway?